When Was the Last Time You Thanked Your Local Animal Control Officer?

Well, now is your chance! It’s National Animal Care & Control Appreciation Week (April 9 – 15), and I can guarantee that your local ACO would love your appreciation. It is tough work and often goes under the radar.

The Dog Catcher of yesteryear existed mostly in cartoons, usually only to be outwitted by some stray dog. This version bears no resemblance to today’s professionals. Today’s ACOs are highly trained, compassionate individuals who provide a vital community service. Animal control has advanced the field and served animals with more positive outcomes, and collaborates with both private citizens and public entities.

As we celebrate this week, hard-earned by officers working to help both people and animals, I’d love for you to “meet” a few hard-working ACO heroes and hear their responses to the following question I posed to them:

Think of a time in the field you really felt that you made a difference for an animal in your community.

Officer Mize was called about a dog running through traffic, with cars swerving all over the road to avoid hitting him. Long story short, the dog in his frantic state went into a deep-banked creek and was drifting away to the current. Next? Just a regular day’s work for Officer Mize! “I jumped down into the creek and was able to secure the dog with a catchpole and saved him from drowning.”

Officer Kooistra received a call about a dog lying in a horse pasture, reportedly dying. The caller was able to point out the dog to her in the far corner of the pasture, where three beautiful white horses were curiously sniffing him. Officer Kooistra carried the 50-pound dog back to her vehicle, all the while being sniffed at and followed by the curious horses. The Kent County shelter veterinarian waited for them at the shelter and found the old dog had two broken legs and was likely blind, and they made the humane decision to euthanize her. “I stroked her head and spoke to her, hoping to comfort her a little, but I'm not sure she could even hear me,” remembers Kooistra. “I thanked her for being so good, and I think she knew I was there to help her.” With a little detective work, the officer was able to locate the owners, who were relieved to know that their beloved Abby was at peace and free from suffering.

Officer Kite responded to an attack-in-progress call to find three dogs involved in a fight. Two of the dogs had been tethered outside a store and got into an altercation with the third dog. All were underweight and hungry. The owner apologized, explaining he had run out of dog food, had just gotten a new job and couldn’t afford enough food for them; Officer Kite gave him a small bag of food she had in her van. She also noticed a KIA Memorial Bracelet on the owner’s wrist and a military backpack with his name patch on it, and went on to do just about everything she could to “help someone who had served our country and clearly loved his dogs.” She brought dog food to his residence every other week while arranging to get the two unneutered dogs fixed. Over time, she watched them gain weight, and even arranged for a dog house with straw. “It brought me great joy to help them,” she says.

Officer Rapier recalls so many moments—helping animals out of snare traps, freeing goats whose heads got stuck in fences, freeing fighting dogs from a life of violence, pulling out a dog stuck in a hole with a porcupine after days of confinement—but what matters most is why she is an ACO. “I do this because I love life and people,” she says. “My hope is to leave them with a memory of how I made them feel, and a good feeling about the individuals who make this job their passion.”

Officer Strittmatter and another ACO were called out for a dog-at-large. They found a white German shepherd extremely emaciated, sunburned and almost hairless. Surprisingly, the dog was wearing an old rabies tag, and the officers were able to obtain a warrant for custody of the dog and prosecute the owners. “In the end,” shares Officer Strittmatter, “we were able to place him with a reputable rescue, where he turned into a foster failure and has been able to live out his remaining years in a loving home.”

Wow. As you can see, being an ACO isn’t an easy job, and perhaps Officer Rapier sums it up best: “There have been those especially memorable animals, but the reality is that every time I or any other officer puts on that Superhero suit—our uniform, that is—we make a difference.”

Do you have a story to share about your local ACO? Leave a comment here, and be sure to thank your local ACOs the next time you see them in action.

Topics:

Comments

Julie Morris

ASPCA Senior Vice President, Community Outreach

In her current role at the ASPCA, Julie Morris heads the program group working primarily to ensure dogs and cats are valued and well cared-for by society, in particular focusing on our short-term outcome of high-functioning shelter and safety net systems. With more than 39 years of animal sheltering experience, Morris joined the ASPCA in 1990, previously holding the positions of Executive Director of the Humane Society of Huron Valley, Ann Arbor, MI, and Director of Operations at the Michigan Humane Society in Detroit.